


Challenge Accepted

by mooglecharm (morphaileffect)



Series: The Set-up [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M, Mentioned Ardyn Izunia, Mentioned Sylva Nox Fleuret, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26768407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphaileffect/pseuds/mooglecharm
Summary: 1. Luna and Ravus talk about Ignis.2. Noctis overstays so he could challenge Ravus to a round of Moogle Kombat.3. The walls in Ignis and Ravus' apartment are way too thin.
Relationships: Lunafreya Nox Fleuret/Noctis Lucis Caelum, Ravus Nox Fleuret/Ignis Scientia
Series: The Set-up [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1930120
Comments: 7
Kudos: 37





	Challenge Accepted

**Author's Note:**

> The first part of this fic takes place at the same time as [the last part of this earlier fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26542702).
> 
> Thanks to mochatrope for the game Moogle Kombat XD I thought about making the game Tekken 7, but since I don't know much about that _existing_ game, a fictional one would be easier to work with, and I'm lazy.

While the King and his adviser were away on Crown business, the Queen held the fort.

On those days, when he wasn’t on any missions that took him out of the capital, Ravus elected to stay as a guest in the Citadel and help her with her duties. After all, his primary task as principal adviser to the Queen was to make sure she wasn’t overwhelmed.

And as her elder brother, one of his many tasks was to make sure she felt like she had someone she could rely on. So he was a diplomat when she needed him to be. And a dinner companion when she needed one.

Ravus had to admit, he enjoyed those dinners. The Citadel’s chefs prepared Tenebraean meals as best they could, with the ingredients they had in stock (frozen, rarely fresh). Lucian tastes leaned away from strong sweet flavors, so the dishes weren’t quite as good as if they had been made in Tenebrae, but they were passable.

(The effort that professional chefs put into it was nowhere near as convincing as when Ignis tried to cook Tenebraean dishes in the apartment they shared, but Ravus appreciated it nonetheless.)

"There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you," Luna opened on that first dinner together.

Ravus’ eyes narrowed.

“If this is about the Chrysantheme clan sniffing around the Citadel,” he began, “I assure you, they are nothing you should concern yourself with.”

“It’s not about the Chrysanthemes.” Luna smiled.“I know you can handle them.”

“So? What did you want to ask?”

There was a mischievous sparkle in her eye. Ravus felt a nip of danger in the air.

"You used your hands on him, didn't you."

It wasn't a question.

Ravus cleared his throat and took a sip of his tea. "You have no basis for that presumption," he calmly retorted.

Luna chuckled. She leaned forward and planted her elbows on the table, rested her chin in her hands.

“Sometimes you even talk like him,” she pointed out, “It’s adorable.”

Luna had changed since getting married. So many things delighted her.

But Ravus remembered a solemn little girl who bore the weight of the future on her shoulders. Who only ever smiled when she received a notebook carried by a magical being across continents. Who had been ready to battle gods in the name of love, even if it meant dying in the end.

That girl was no longer anywhere to be seen. And Ravus was grateful.

...even if at times, this new, happier, _chattier_ girl could get on his nerves.

“You know,” she said, in a teasing tone this time, "Mother told you to be careful. "

"And so I was," Ravus indignantly replied. "Only toward others for whom I feel genuine attraction, yes? Lest they mistake my good intentions for affection."

She smiled. "So you admit you felt a genuine attraction to him."

Ravus frowned, looked away. "I do not deny it," he answered haughtily. "But he was, in the parlance of the Lucian young these days, a little dense. He would not have become aware of my feelings, had I not taken action."

Her smile grew wider. Ravus sighed, waved one hand in the air dismissively.

"Save your judgment. I would have stopped if he had put up the slightest resistance."

“I’m not judging,” Luna blithely clarified. "I’m just happy. There was a time when we couldn’t even think of discussing things like this, wasn’t there?"

Ravus huffed.

"I think that since you married, sister, you’ve been a bit too concerned about my personal affairs. You never reminded me much of Mother, but now the resemblance is uncanny."

Remembering their mother was always bittersweet, in this time of peace. It made Luna cry when Ravus mentioned her on the day of her wedding, for one thing...

And now, remembering that their mother had been an impish little matchmaker, fixing up courtiers with each other, brokering love matches where she could - made Ravus secretly wince. She always put such importance on love, even (or especially?) at a time when death was all around.

She had known about Ravus’ hands, which he had used as a child to help with her aches and pains. She had repeatedly warned him that if he ever used his very weak, but very present healing magic on anyone besides family, they were going to fall head over heels for him.

He had always treated it as a joke, from a mother who loved to talk about love. Until one day, he actually found someone outside of family whom he _liked_ touching, whose touch was welcome.

Maybe it made Luna wince, as well. She became a bit defensive.

"I knew he would make a good match for you," Luna protested. "You're commanding, he's conciliatory. But you're both dutiful, tenacious, and unstoppable. I know of no two people who can represent Lucian interests as well together."

She didn’t have to be roundabout. Ravus didn’t begrudge his sister her transparency.

"I'm no fool; I recognized your hand in it," he said. Though the words would seem hostile to an eavesdropper, they came with no trace of antagonism. "We didn't get along, at the start. He would not acquiesce to simple requests." Of course, "requests" probably meant "barked orders," or outright insults - Ravus couldn’t exactly recall. "But all of a sudden, one journey later, he began to...accommodate."

And Ravus did like it when people of formidable strength and intelligence did as he told them. It was nothing he ever felt he had to apologize for. People who knew him from childhood, like Luna did, would know how it came as second nature to him -

To be attracted to strong and smart people, who knew when to let him take charge.

"Moreover, the man bakes like a beast when stressed. And he knows exactly how I prefer my pastries semi-sweet. You must have told him that.” He tossed his hair back lightly, with an annoyed growl. “I have to take him to bed just to keep his anxieties from making me fat and indolent."

"What's wrong with fat?" Luna chuckled. "In our case, dear brother, fat means happy. I, for one, am looking forward to growing old and fat with my husband. You should count yourself lucky that you're with someone who actually knows how to cook. You could do with a little less vanity, and a little more meat on your bones."

Ravus looked at his sister again, marveling at how easily such unrefined words tumbled out of her lips.

She was the most comfortable that he had ever seen her. Comfort gave her a certain glow, placed her at her most beautiful.

"Do you realize that Noctis and I have never fought?" she casually recalled. "Until recently. When the matter turned to you and his beloved friend, Ignis. Then he left to stay in his old apartment for a few days."

"Your husband is a child," Ravus spat before he could stop himself.

"And that is part of what I love about him," Luna gently revealed, her smile radiant. "Do you remember, dear brother, that we were hardly children, ourselves? Growing up in the shadow of the Empire...we didn't have many chances to enjoy being young."

It was true. Their every move was watched and measured. Especially since the Empire’s slimy Chancellor had had his eye on them, and not only sped up his sister’s ascension as Oracle, but also aided in Ravus’ swift promotion in the ranks of the Niflheim army.

The Chancellor was out of their lives - but the hateful memory of him made Ravus’ skin crawl.

"One of the things Noctis does that I hold most precious,” Luna, with her soothing voice, said, “is that he makes me feel young."

That made Ravus pause to think, and the pause drove off evil memories from his mind.

Was that what he felt, with Ignis?

No...not young, not exactly.

But _alive_.

Alive and feeling everything.

All the things he never allowed himself to feel when he was growing up in Tenebrae. Or collecting scars in Niflheim.

In the past, all he felt was anger. Sorrow, fondness, longing - these were emotions he had pushed to the back of his mind. To protect Lunafreya - to defy fate - hatred was the only emotion he allowed himself to feel, for years and years.

A lifetime ago.

“I am,” he said sincerely, “happy for you, dear sister.”

She reached across the small table they shared, and took his hands in hers.

“I’m happy for you, too, dear brother.” She said, looking deep into his eyes. "And I implore you, from the bottom of my happy heart, not to cause any more marital discord for me."

He gripped her slender fingers lightly.

 _I can’t assure you of that, because your husband will always find fault with me, because he is a blasted_ child, he almost said.

Except he didn’t want to drag this on longer. It was a request any sister was well within her right to ask of her beloved brother.

And, as always, he was there to set her mind at ease.

“I will do my best,” he simply promised.

***

  
“Please don’t tell me you’re planning to spend the night,” Ignis sighed.

“Are you insane,” Noctis said absently. He was on a boss level and in a bad place to be asked things. “I’m leaving right after I beat this guy.”

He had been saying that for the last hour. Ignis was starting to think Noctis was actually _waiting_ for Ravus to come home.

But Ignis couldn’t see any benefit to that. They had already agreed that after coming back that morning from their overnight stay at Galdin Quay, Noctis would just drop by to see the apartment that Ignis shared with Ravus, hang around for a bit, then leave before Ravus could arrive.

They were supposed to change places - Ravus would be coming back from the Citadel, and Noctis would be going back _to_ the Citadel. Both would be home in time for dinner. No meeting was planned to take place.

But Noctis got his hands on Ravus’ PS4, and plans were thrown out the window.

Ignis had left several messages on Ravus’ phone asking if he was coming home on schedule...but true to form, there was no reply. Of course, he could have just been busy, assisting the Queen with her duties - or Ravus just never got used to checking his phone, even to answer texts from Ignis regularly.

(Technology was never a big part of life in Tenebrae, though no doubt a measure of it was in the Niflheim military. It was ironic to Ignis, therefore, that Ravus took so quickly to gaming technology when he shied away from _every other kind of tech_.)

Noctis didn’t look like he had any plans to leave, either. He had his feet up on the living room table and was contentedly slumped in the sofa.

The truth was, Noctis had a plan.

The plan was to see how much truth there was in Ignis’ claim that Ravus also liked videogames. Tried as he might, Noctis just couldn’t see it. And it wasn’t as if he distrusted Ignis, but he wanted to see how much of what Ignis told him about Ravus was truthful.

If it was true that Ravus was the good guy Ignis built him up to be.

So he purposefully put off beating “this guy” until Ravus arrived. He fully expected to be the first thing Ravus saw upon walking through the front door.

But when Ravus arrived, he didn’t even glance at the Lucian King, who was fully within his line of sight. He made a beeline for Ignis.

“Ravus. Did you get my -- ” Ignis never quite finished.

Ravus drew him close by the waist, and started kissing him intensely.

Noctis stared so hard that he lost control of his game for a few seconds. “This guy” defeated him, forcing him back to the last save point.

When they pulled apart finally, Noctis noticed that Ravus had the same glassy look in his eyes that Luna did after they kissed.

 _EW_ , Noctis screamed internally. _Nope. No_ _I do_ not _need to see Ravus in my wife or vice versa now, thank you and_ goodbye _, mental images_.

Ignis wiped his lips with the side of one hand and coughed discreetly.

“Er...did you know that we have company?”

Ravus blinked. Looked at the living room finally.

Noctis took one hand off the controller, raised it in greeting.

“Hey,” he muttered.

Ravus released Ignis, squared his shoulders like a soldier, then stood up straight, facing Noctis.

Murder in his eyes.

“Your Majesty,” he said with a slight bow of his head. “We are humbled by your visit to our domicile. Although some forewarning would have been ideal...” He looked sharply at Ignis.

“There _would_ have been forewarning,” Ignis amiably agreed, “if you’d checked your phone even once in the last hour.”

It was as if Ravus just remembered that he owned a mobile phone. He fidgeted slightly, only as much as his scuffed pride would allow.

“I don’t mean to be a bother,” Noctis said, holding up both hands now. “I just heard from Ignis that you like videogames, and, well, I was wondering if I could challenge you to a few rounds of something before heading on home.”

“Really?” Ignis asked disbelievingly. He crossed his arms over his chest. “And this is something you’ve had planned for a while now, is it?”

“Nope. Totally spur of the moment,” Noctis said truthfully. “I just saw that he had a Moogle Kombat cartridge and thought I’d see if he was any good at it.”

There was an uncomfortable pause. Ravus seemed to be pondering the best way to respond.

In the end he settled on a quiet, dangerous: “I _slay_ at Moogle Kombat.”

Under other circumstances, Noctis would have taken this tone of voice as meaning a threat to his life.

This time, it only drew a smirk out of him.

“Then I request a game,” he said, in his best kingly voice. “Best of three?”

The wary, predatory look simply would not leave Ravus’ face. “It would be my honor.”

“Amused” was an understatement for the expression Ignis sported.

“All right, but it’s about time for dinner, and I won’t let either of you let my hard work go to waste.” He turned to Ravus. “Did you want to wash up first?”

“I beg to be excused. Your Majesty.” Ravus nodded at Noctis, then, to Noctis’ surprise, at Ignis. “Scientia.”

As if he hadn’t just been sucking face with the man a minute ago.

Ignis’ eyebrow shot up. Way up. “Lord Nox Fleuret,” he answered in a low voice that barely restrained the laughter underneath.

Noctis didn’t bother holding back the chuckle that burst out of him at all. And just when he thought Ravus’ glare couldn’t get any deadlier, it _did_ , for a fraction of a second.

Then Ravus strode into his room, leaving Ignis to shush the remaining laughter out of their esteemed young guest.

***

Dinner was unremarkable, with Ravus being curt and leaving Ignis and Noctis to carry on the mealtime conversation.

This was the extent of his politeness, Noctis realized, as Ravus trounced him soundly during their first round of Moogle Kombat.

Of course, whenever Noctis lost at a videogame, there had to be a round two. By royal decree.

And Noctis won that one.

By that time, the consensus was that it was a little too late for Noctis to call for a ride home.

So they ran another game. One that Noctis won again.

Ravus’ controller ended up in the trash bin. Ignis told a scandalized Noctis to let it stay there. “He’ll come around and get it himself tomorrow,” he assured his King. “Or it’ll get taken away when the garbage collectors come. Whichever happens first.”

It was still in the trash bin when Noctis dozed off in Ignis’ room. Ignis had insisted that he sleep there, while he slept on the couch.

(Ravus had seemed displeased with this sleeping arrangement; he had wanted to take the couch, while Ignis slept in his room. But Ignis would have none of it.

(To Noctis’ surprise, Ravus didn’t put up much of a fight.

(He somehow thought Ravus would - and he didn’t know why he thought that. Maybe his aggressive behavior while they played Moogle Kombat factored into that opinion somehow...

(Was he being subdued because he was playing host to royalty? Or was it just that Ignis had a way of getting him to back down?)

Around midnight, Noctis woke, uneasy with the feeling of sleeping in unfamiliar quarters. Alone.

He missed Luna. He had grown too used to sleeping beside her. He had missed her terribly, too, the first time he up and left the Citadel to go back to his bachelor pad, after their very first fight as newlyweds.

He would have to take her with him now, he once thought with amusement, if ever he and the guys got it into their heads to go camping again. If it was going to be awkward for others to see him sleep with his arms around her, he would have to bring a separate tent.

...Although, of course, Ignis and Ravus would need to have their separate tent, as well. Noctis could see now how going back to camping at this specific stage in their lives could be...awkward.

He was about to step out of his room to wake Ignis and tell him he was calling Cor for a ride back to the Citadel.

But as he was blinking sleep out of his eyes, he realized that Ignis was already awake. And so was Ravus.

They were in the living room. Their whispered conversation carried in the total silence of the apartment.

“You have an early day tomorrow.” Ravus’ voice. “You need to sleep on a proper bed.”

“I would’ve slept here just fine if you hadn’t come to wake me,” Ignis was arguing. “Please, Ravus, you don’t have to go out of your way. Noct is here because of me. Let me take care of this.”

“How are you still so stubborn.”

There was a grunt, and a few other soft noises that told Noctis that someone was probably getting physically lifted off the couch.

 _Bridal-carried_ , his imagination informed him. Gods, he would _never_ be able to scrub the images from that leaked hotel video from his eyes...

“You know, you really have to stop doing this...” Ignis said, slightly muffled, as if his mouth was against someone’s shoulder.

“Someday. When you stop being difficult.”

“All right, _fine_ , I’m sleeping in your room. As long as we’re _just sleeping_.”

“If you say so.”

“I’m serious. I don’t want to make noise and wake Noct.”

“I refuse to make that my problem.”

“Ravus...!”

The rest of the conversation was cut off by the sound of the door to Ravus’ room closing.

Noctis then prayed that 1) Ravus would listen to Ignis and _just sleep_ , and 2) that the walls between bedrooms were thicker than the wall between Ignis’ room and the living room apparently was.

But the gods weren’t in a mood to hear him out that night.

They were very much in the mood to hear Ignis out, however.

Seriously.

He had never heard Ignis make sexy sounds before.

He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be feeling.

Apart from missing Luna very, very much all of a sudden.

For one thing, he could tell her _Your brother is making Specs noisy, make him stop._

So she could tell him, sweetly, _That’s not my problem, darling, and neither is it yours. I propose that we get equally noisy so it’ll stop bothering you._

With a predatory smile on her luscious lips that looked disturbingly like a smile Ravus would make.

(He was never going to unsee the familial resemblances between them either, was he? Gods help him.)

He sandwiched his head between pillows to muffle the sounds. And for a while, it worked.

But then a loud THUD penetrated the blessed silence.

And his first instinct was to rush out the door to see if any harm had befallen Ignis.

He was, in fact, on his way to the door, when he heard something else:

Ignis laughing.

And Ravus laughing along with him.

That was when Noctis realized his hosts had fallen out of bed. He imagined a tangling of long limbs, sheets wound round body parts wrongly, a bit of concussion, even...

He let his hand rest on the doorframe, let himself smile.

Ignis was laughing.

He could think of only one sound more beautiful: Luna laughing.

As the sound faded, he felt surprisingly at peace.

 _Doesn’t he deserve that?_ he could hear Luna asking as he returned to bed. _They both do, don’t they?_

Maybe one day he could see Ravus the way Luna did...would love him, even, the way she did: as family.

But for now, he was going to settle for seeing him as the guy who made Ignis laugh. Someone who was glad to come home to him, who cared about him waking up rested enough for an early day. Who would put up with a King who had dropped by unannounced, just to prove how much he loved the man who loved said King like an obnoxious, suspicious little brother.

_Yeah,_ Noctis replied to the Luna in his heart. _I guess they do._


End file.
